Wikipedia’s official definition of President’s Day is “Washington’s Birthday is a United States federal holiday celebrated on the third Monday of February in honor of George Washington, the first President of the United States. Colloquially, the day is also now widely known as Presidents’ Day and is often an occasion to remember all the presidents, not just George Washington.”
Now that we have the old school historical significance out of the way, let’s get into what this means to young adults today. In a survey distributed to college and high school students, it was clear that this holiday is not just about giving a good ol’ #hbd to the ghosts of presidents past. In fact, on a scale of 1-10, the historical knowledge of the day was on average about a 3.
Looking at this day through a more modern lens, as this survey pointed out, there is definitely a percentage of people who predictably view this holiday as a nice break from school. However, the majority thinks this day exists to reflect upon the accomplishments of the United States presidents. One participant said that President’s Day is about “Celebrating people who ran the country. Clearly that doesn’t really mean much now a days. The past presidents have shaped our country and made it what it is, we need a day to remember that.”
But to some, it’s not that special of a day. One participant claimed that as far as how much the holiday means to them, it’s “not much since the orange guy.” Other participants collectively noted that it doesn’t mean much to them at all as a general holiday.
When asked if this year’s President’s Day felt different to them, there was a multitude of notable responses.
“It feels borderline disrespectful.”
“This President’s Day feels slightly different from others in that this is the first time I’ve honestly been disgusted and embarrassed by the name that follows the title. I feel like this day is to honor mostly George Washington, but also the other 44 men who have served since, and President Trump just doesn’t fit into that lineup for me.”
“No; to me it’s always about past presidents.”
“Yes. Our current president is not honorable, nor has any of his current work in office been honorable.”
“No.”
Despite the differing opinions of the millennials who participated in this survey, not one participant claimed Presiden’t Day should not be a holiday. So whether you are using this Monday as a day to relax, a day to think about the accomplishments of the past and present presidents, or a day to ignore any political news coverage, enjoy it!